World of Warcraft Characters Wander Dublin in 'Avatar Days'

With over 11 million subscribers, odds are you know someone who plays World of Warcraft. Blizzard's online role-playing juggernaut has become something of a cultural phenomenon and I can only imagine how many graduate level academic papers will be written on the social experience of the game in the years to come. Until those start being published (can't wait ... ) you can learn a bit about what makes four hardcore WoW fans tick in Cormac Kelly's four-minute short film, Avatar Days.

Avatar Days follows these World of Warcraft players through their daily lives, but the catch is that they've been digitally modified to look like their in-game avatars. The effect is striking, seeing a large cow-like Tauren walking along the streets of Dublin or an undead Warlock climbing into a piece of heavy machinery. Kelly shows us these images while each person provides voiceover narrative detailing why they play the game and what their character means to them.

The project was shot and completed in just four short days, as part of the "4 Day Film" category of the Darklight Film Festival. Making and completing a short film in four days is impressive enough, but it becomes even more noteworthy when you consider the amount of computer-generated material that had to be included -- and that the avatars are a visual upgrade over the older in-game models of World of Warcraft.

While Avatar Days isn't the big-budget World of Warcraft film we've been hearing about (that one will supposedly have Sam Raimi directing), it is an impressive short filled with some very cool visuals that may shine some light on why people are so addicted to this game. Check it out for yourself after the jump.